Miss Scarlet and The Duke’s Kate Phillips on Season 3
MASTERPIECE spoke with Miss Scarlet and The Duke‘s star Kate Phillips about all things Season 3. Learn more about Phillips’ take on Eliza and William’s up-and-down relationship this season, Eliza’s surprising decision in that explosive finale, plus everything from what superpower Phillips would have, to who would make a better partner to Eliza in solving crime vs. who’d make a better partner in crime, The Duke or Nash. [Warning: Contains spoilers about the Season 3 finale.]
What a huge way to finish off Season 3. What do you think drove Eliza to finally accept Nash’s offer?
It’s a little ambiguous, but I think ultimately for Eliza, the opportunity to run a bigger agency with more challenging cases is always going to be appealing. You know, she’s always looking to get ahead and I think she can’t shut that bit of her brain down, as much as she sort of turned him down time and time again. I think that his never-ending faith in her abilities just wore her down, sort of broke her resolve in the end. It’s too attractive of a proposition for her to turn down, perhaps. So, it’ll be super exciting to see how she manages, how she survives in an office with loads of men.
Does she know what she’s getting into?
You know what? I don’t think she does. And I don’t think Nash has really thought it through either.
How did you feel when you saw the Season 3 finale script and when you saw that there was that moment where Nash asked her again and she finally is at a place where she’s ready to accept?
I was thinking, “Well, that’s more of an adventure.” Right? Also, just on a personal note, Felix Scott is really fun to work with as Nash. So I think that dynamic’s really interesting. If you’re throwing Eliza into a new environment, there’s more fun to be had, lots more adventures, and lots more challenges. The idea of her working more exciting cases is really exciting too, because for so long she’s been struggling. It’s nice, the idea of her getting a little bit of a leg up and seeing [some steady business]…that’s what you’d like to think, anyway.
Felix [Scott] at one point said Eliza and Nash have that back and forth and they bicker like an old married couple.
I think it sort of creeps up on them, actually, because I think…perhaps less so with Nash towards Eliza, but Eliza…over time I think she realizes that actually, she kind of adores him, but she was surprised by those feelings in the end. She [now] has huge amount of respect for him as a friend.
We also saw that major moment at the end of Season 3 with Arabella and Duke, when she broke things off with him because he’s so clearly in love with Eliza. So does this mean maybe a big confession is on the horizon? And how would Eliza handle something like that?
Yeah, I think it’s a step in the right direction in terms of William’s clarity and his understanding of his feelings. Because I think that’s been a bit murky for him up until now. But I think Eliza has a little way to go before she’s prepared to admit her feelings.
I really enjoyed doing that scene where she goes to say something in that final scene in the Season 2 finale, and then she’s robbed of that moment when she realizes that he’s staying. I think that doesn’t really change in terms of [her] not really being prepared to look at her heart and really analyze it. I think partly because there’s a much bigger picture ahead of her. She’s incredibly ambitious and the sacrifices that she’d have to make in order to be in a relationship with William in a way that would need to happen. I think maybe she’s not quite ready for that, but never say never.
Hopefully her independence and her feelings can coexist together and, I guess even in modern relationships, that’s still a bit of a challenge. So maybe they’ll find a little groove together.
If Eliza was alive in 2023, what kind of detective would she be these days? Would she see more action, maybe work undercover…?
I think she’d be the head of MI-5 or something. But I think that might be a bit too boring for her, because that probably requires just sitting behind a desk. She’d be like a female James Bond, I think.
[In Season 3] I seem to remember falling in a puddle. There’s some launching yourself onto the ground from standing, which requires padding. You’ve got to get the timing right. It’s very technically challenging. And I did do that all by myself! What else? I think I opened a carriage door into someone. Not necessarily me doing the stunt-y bit, but still!
If Eliza had a superpower, what would it be?
Well, my personal one [as Kate], and I kind of don’t want give it away cause I think it’s quite a good one, but I’m going to give it to you. Here it is. I’d know all the languages…I think actually that’s quite a good one for a spy and their covers because you could just slip into any accent perfectly, any dialect.
Who would be a better partner in solving crime: Nash or the Duke?
My loyalty is to the Duke, so I have to say the Duke. But we do laugh, Stuart [Martin] and I, because I’m not sure if he’s solved any cases! I think he might have solved one or so. We believe he’s a really good Detective Inspector and he’s got a good heart. But we can’t remember what cases he’s solved!
And who would be a better partner in crime: Nash or the Duke?
Oh, definitely Nash. Because he’s really naughty…And he doesn’t have the morality of a police officer, so he can kind of get away with anything he wants to get away with!
